Bitter Sweet

I stilled, my breath caught in my chest, I was pretty sure I had finished this portrait yesterday. I was also sure that I signed my name and wrote the date last night. Today was not June 21st, so accordingly, yesterday was not the 20th. Was I really losing my mind after all?

I dropped the thick paper, my dark brows knitted together, Something was wrong.

'Have you experienced this before? Feeling lost.' I remembered his words.

The breathtaking, dark entity. I could hear my heart beating loudly in my ears, as if all it wanted was to tear my ribcage open. I remembered him.

Rey.

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"What in the hell is this?"

I looked up from my lunch to look at Eric, his eyes were fixed on the purplish color of the bruise that now circled my forearm. Shit, I forgot about that when I almost blindly grabbed the faded purple t-shirt this morning.

"It's God's."

I replied, chewing on my cold ham and cheese sandwich. I didn't care how insane I was anymore. Nothing was making much sense anyways. Rey's appearance in my life was not the only out-of-the-world, vague, unexplained situation that has happened to me lately.

For god's sake, Avalyn, stop thinking about that guy for one hot minute.

I wanted to punch myself right in the face.

Eric looked at me as though I had grown a third eye.

"The God of death, or so he called himself."

I turned my face away. I was being one hundred percent honest, but I still felt like a teenager in love, spilling her secret fantasies about her crush to her best friend. Well, I knew he would not believe me anyways.

Did I even care?

Nope.

"You've been acting weird lately and... is that a blush I see on your face?"

"No."

"Well, well, well. Avalyn Macdaniel the third, I can finally— and proudly—say that I have witnessed the day I saw you blushing over someone." He was too happy for his own good.

"Shut up." I groaned, burying my face in my hand,

"It's nothing like that. I'm just... overwhelmed at the moment."

Eric shifted beside me, he raised a hand and put it right on my shoulder. I glanced at him.

"Look at me, Avalyn," his tone dropped, it got more serious.

"You know I'm always there for you, right? I am worried about you. You have been acting out of character lately." I knew I was and I knew he thought a great part of it had to deal with the accident, but it did not.

"I want you to feel comfortable sharing anything with me, you I know I'll always be there for you." He was staring right into my eyes, his blonde hair moving with the wind.

I nodded. I knew he meant it. I knew I could trust him.

"So, who are you taking to the dance?" He beamed up, completely changing the subject.

"What dance?"

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A couple of hours later. I waved goodbye to Eric and some other people who I have met throughout my years at Uni but was not that close with.

A familiar feeling rushed through my veins, a feeling deeper than sadness and I knew it was a matter of time before each one of us went their separate ways and even though I was not the best kind of friend to them, I was still going to miss them all, especially Eric, his absurd, unbearable antics and all.

Having said goodbye, I turn on my heel and begin walking home. A couple minutes passed by and I looked around me, the golden sunlight of the dying day was now casting rich shadows on my surroundings.

I didn't know why I did not bring my bike today, or yesterday, or the days before. I usually rode my bike to school. It seemed like I had enjoyed walking those last couple of days. However, whenever I tried to recall those last couple of days it always felt like a hazy blur.

'Have you experienced this before? The hazy memory.'

His ANNOYING icy voice echoed in my head and I hated how it caused a slight shiver to run down my spine. Seriously, he sounded like someone had just woken him up at 5 in the morning.

With his silver eyes, sharp features and black-on-black attire, I thought he might as well be a demon. Maybe he was, maybe he was my sleep paralysis demon coming to life.

"Whatever you're thinking about, it's not true."

Came that husky, cold voice. I almost tripped and fell face-first into the hard ground. I steadied my feet as quickly as I could, but ended up dropping a couple of sketches.

I turned my head to the side and there he was, his black leather pants shining bright in the dying daylight, a simple black t-shirt hugged his upper body tightly.

I knew I could easily trace every dip of his muscles. Yet, his leather jacket was nowhere to be seen. His hair, now given a gleaming reddish hue thanks to the orange sunset, fluttered lazily in the wind.

Shaking my head, and pushing the crazy thoughts I was beginning to have deeper into my unconsciousness, I kneeled down to grab the scattered papers.

He did the same, with one knee against the hard ground, he reached for a couple pencil drawings.

I glanced up, he was right in front of me, our faces only a few inches away and I knew if I leaned forward just a little, our lips would meet. We locked, emerald drowning in silver, and I could feel the ghost of his warm breath against my mouth.

Absent-mindedly, my gaze dropped to his own, full, parted lips greeted me, so ready for my kiss.

"Well, this is pleasant." He brought my attention back from where the hell it was before I could do something stupid, something I might regret later.

Would regret it though? If I just crush my lips into his and let him take me exactly how he wanted to.

"This is the exact definition of corny." I spat

as I grabbed the last of the sketches and rose to my feet, completely avoiding his gaze.

He followed me, handing me the rest of the paper and I got a glimpse of the several silver rings encircling his lean, slim fingers. How I failed to notice this before was beyond me.

Maybe I was so preoccupied with his devilishly handsome face? I did not know. Anyways, I started heading back home.

"Why do you keep following me?" I looked at the road ahead.

"I'm not."

"You're literally walking right next to me."

"Perhaps I'm headed towards the same destination."

I flashed him an annoyed look, one that screamed 'Really now?'

He shrugged. So I decided that the rest of the walk would be in silence.

A few people passed by, greeting me with either a smile or a nod in my direction. I did the same. Some girl, who I recognized as one of my sister's friends, even stopped and we had a quick, mostly asking about when my sister was going to come back.

What caught my attention, however, was how they seemed not to acknowledge Rey's presence in any way or form. It was as if he never even existed. Was he a ghost? Oh god, was I now seeing dead people?

Why was I even already calling him by his name as if we were somehow familiar with each other?

I glanced up at him, he looked pretty much alive and, as a matter of fact,he looked lost in his own thoughts.

I took that chance to carefully study him up close. I would be lying if I said he was not extremely attractive. How did any passerby not stare at his otherwordly beauty?

Just what the hell are you?" I broke the silence that I had instigated,l in the first place, realizing that I was now thinking out loud, I hugged the drawings tighter.

"I told you who I was." Was all he said, he did not even look at me.

"The God of death?" I scoffed. He looked at me and I thought for a second there that I had angered him.

"Yes. Well," he ran a hand through his black locks, the rings around his fingers shone brightly against his dark hair.

"Technically, that is my father."

"Okay?" I sounded not so sure.

"I'm just doing his job for him, we all are." He stated and if I had known the guy better I would say there was a hint of sorrow in his voice.

I did not know what to say or how to process this. I looked at him again, this time locking eyes with the strange male. His now very familiar wicked grin was nowhere to be found. He seemed genuinely at ease.

It was not long before we both stood at the driveway of my small house. I pressed the several unfinished sketches to my chest and looked at him.

"You wanna go grab coffee?"

Well, that was unexpected of me to say, I could see it right there in his eyes. He looked puzzled.

I would not in a million years begin to understand why I suggested that.

It was almost the end of the day, I should be home studying for the finals, or cooking dinner, or even watching a movie or something, heck, I should be spending time with Lily.

The thing is, that guy was growing on me. He was so dark, so enigmatic and so gorgeous. There was something about him that I could not quite place my hand upon that made me want more from him, more of his dangerously low voice, his razor-sharp glances, his warmth, and that fire he seemed to unknowingly set my body on.

I felt like my whole world narrowed and all that was there right now was him. Just him.

"Are you asking me to leave?" He cocked his hand to the side, several luscious, dark strands fell to the side of his confused face. He looked so adorable.

"No," I almost let out a laugh, "I am asking you if you would like to go somewhere with me where we can both drink coffee." I felt like I had to carefully explain to him,

"Seriously, you sounded like you're a hundred years old just now." I scoffed.

He stared at me, his jaw clenched tightly. I had upset him.

"Well, anyways, you wait here, I'll go change and be out in a minute."

When he was silent I took it as an agreement. I paced to the house, inserted my key in, and pushed the heavy, brownish door open. Quickly I rushed upstairs to my bedroom, clearly breaking my sister's "No Shoes Inside" policy.